View full sizeThe president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents TriMet operators, has proposed a 'stop-gap solution' to the problem of driver fatigue. The proposal comes four days after The Oregonian's story on the problem. Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

In an effort to upstage TriMet management in the battle against bus driver fatigue, the operators' union on Thursday released a sweeping proposal for new scheduling rules and curbs on overtime.

The Amalgamated Transit Union 757 "stop gap solution," released in the wake of The Oregonian's investigation into drivers falling asleep while shuttling passengers, calls for a minimum of 10 consecutive hours off between shifts for most bus operators.

By limiting drivers to 12-hours work days, the new rules would also seemingly prevent them from working up to 22 hours in a 24-hour period to fill open shifts and make overtime pay – a practice that the newspaper examination revealed.

"We need to address the issue of operator fatigue now," said Bruce Hansen, ATU 757's president. "The time for studying the problem is over. We stand with all those in the community who are calling for an immediate response to this problem."

At the same time, the plan calls for a reduction in split shifts, which could make it a non-starter in negotiations. Oregon's largest transit agency relies on such shifts – when drivers get up early to drive the morning rush and then wait several hours to work the evening rush – for 40 percent of its weekday runs.

TriMet, whose past attempts to get the union to discuss limiting drivers' work hours have been rebuffed, responded to the proposal with caution and a hint of suspicion.

"We welcome the proposal," said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch, "and we are reviewing what the cost implications will be."

And that's the catch.

A financial mess that has significantly cut service and jacked up fares has also left the agency with a short supply of cash to hire additional drivers.

The Oregonian story showed how TriMet has paid overtime rather than pay new employees what are among the most generous health care and retirement benefits in the transit industry.

A long hiring freeze, which ended in recent months, and 10 percent absenteeism have created more opportunities for overtime, and the number of drivers earning more than $100,000 a year has gone from zero to eight in three years -- including one who made nearly $117,000 in fiscal 2012.

By limiting "the span" of a driver's work day to 12 hours, the ATU proposal would scale back TriMet's reliance on long split shifts, a common practice for decades in the transit industry.

Hansen said forced split shifts have made many operators' workday span exhausting. With an unpaid break between peak periods, some split-shifters are scheduled to work at 4:30 a.m. and don't get home until 7:30 p.m. Operators often refer to it as "working 15 hours for 8 hours pay."

In recent years, public safety experts have increasingly linked long split shifts at transit agencies to serious health problems and driver fatigue. A new Portland State University study set to be presented next week to the Transportation Review Board shows TriMet's split-shift operators are more fatigued than those working marathon overtime runs.

"Actual time on duty," the ATU proposal says, "starts when an employee arrives at the time and place specified by TriMet and ends when the employee is finally released of all responsibility."

Union officials said their plan won't require TriMet to go on a hiring binge. Hansen said the ATU has worked out ways to recalibrate the agency's complex scheduling to better use operators' time.

"TriMet likes to blame the union for what's going on" with driver's hours, Hansen said. "But they set the parameters of bus runs. It has been years and years since they have even looked at re-setting those parameters."

The Oregonian's eight-month investigation found at least 21 cases in 3 1/2 years of riders, motorists and TriMet supervisors reporting operators nodding off at the helm of agency vehicles.

It also showed that although operators are limited to 17 hours during a service day, bus drivers can work 12 hours or more until 2 a.m. at the end of one service day and clock back in at 4 a.m. to work another long shift during the next service day.

The Oregon Department of Transportation regulates the hours worked by light-rail operators, requiring at least seven hours off between shifts.

Saying the story exposed "glaring" policy shortcomings, TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane ordered an internal audit of procedures for calling in operators for overtime. He said operators should turn down overtime "If there is a real risk of fatigue setting in," and other employees should be watchful.

The agency has, so far, been vague about its ideas for policy changes. It hasn't gone much further than saying it wants a 14-hour work limit each service day and hopes to find ways to require nine hours off between shifts.

The union, meanwhile, has recommended a required minimum of 10 hours off for bus drivers between service days, except for "extra board" operators who are frequently called upon to fill open shifts. Extra board operators would be required to take a minimum of nine consecutive hours off.

Also according to the ATU plan, drivers would be limited to 70 hours over seven days and no more than 13 straight days of work. The scheduling limits would be waived in emergency situations such as natural disasters and winter storms.

"The proposed stop-gap policy guarantees that operators have sufficient rest between shifts," the union said in a statement.

Because of a legal dispute over public access to negotiating sessions, the start of bargaining for the next contract is two months behind schedule. Hansen called on TriMet to immediately implement the ATU's new proposal until a permanent policy can be negotiated as part of the contract.